Update: As of 12/12/08, I've closed the posts requesting feedback on fanfic writing. This is because I got more of a response than I bargained for! You guys are great, truly.

If I contacted you directly, and we've exchanged messages/emails about a time frame for you to get back to me, I'll still be looking for something by the agreed upon date. And thank you.

Regards,

Sylvia

Dear Fanfic Writer,

I write a regular review column for pinkraygun.com, currently for Supernatural, which I’ve been doing for about a year and a half. I have been tapped to do a longer piece on fanfiction. The question my webmaster put to me was twofold:

How did you become involved in fandom?

and

Why do you internalize a character so strongly that you feel compelled to write about them? Lots of people enjoy and even love characters and don’t write stories about them. Why did you take this extra step? Is it something about the character that draws you in? Or is it something else?

I could just tell my own story, but I think that this would rather limit the scope of the piece. So I wanted to put the question to some writers in this fandom whose work I know, and that I’ve admired over the last two years.

I think the questions are interrelated in that you can’t tell the “why” of it without going through the “how” of it. If you’re willing, I would like you to share the following:

How did you come to be involved in your current fandom, how you came to start writing fanfic?

Were you a writer first and then a fanfic writer? Or vice versa? Or did both develop at the same time?

And then why? Why do you write fanfic? Particularly, what is it about a certain character that compels you to write about them?

The answer doesn’t have to be a full blown thesis, though it could be if you like. Just a few paragraphs, something to give me a broader understanding of this question.

Do not feel compelled in any way. I know people are busy, or simply don’t want to share this information. If you don’t wish to share, all you have to do is not reply; you don’t have to worry about how to say no. If you do decide to share, I can deal with your identity in a number of ways.

You can email me your response, and we can include a link to your website/blog in the piece and share it with the world.

You can email me your response and ask to remain anonymous. We could give you a pseudonym, of your choosing if you like. Only I will know your identity.

You could also post to my LJ anonymously in an open, anonymous post, or a locked, friends-only post, whichever works for you.

Or, if you have a fanfriend who you feel might be interested, you can give them the open post link and they can post anonymously.